LONDON ROSE // 9 MONTH UPDATE

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LONDON AT NINE MONTHS

I cannot believe sweet London Rose is NINE MONTHS!! This is hands down my favourite age of the first year. She is sweet as can be and her little (or should I say BIG) personality is coming out!
 

Here's the London's 9 month update:

WEIGHT: 20lbs 9oz
London had some great gains the past 3 months, ha! She's now in the 85th percentile for weight

HEIGHT: 27.5 inches
Her height went down to the 50th percentile but that's totally normal that it goes up and down the first year!

WEARS: I know I've said it a number a times but dressing a baby girl in the summer is SO FUN! She wears lots of dresses, rompers and shorty-shorts! She's mostly in 6-12 month clothing.

SLEEPS: Her sleep has gotten MUCH better. She usually sleeps through the night but sometimes has a feeding around 5 and then I have to wake her around 7! She is a champion napper and NEVER skips her naps. I mostly always have to wake her up from both of them. She's still on two naps and will probably be until about 15 months.

EATS: She eats EVERYTHING! We're pretty much off purees (unless it's a pouch on the go). She finally cut her first tooth but without them, she's been a champion eater! Honestly, she sometimes eats more than Luca!! She's still nursing. Luca weaned around this age but I don't see her weaning anytime soon. (Praying she doesn't bite me!!!) She nurses about 6x a day but only for about 5 minutes and then has about 6oz of formula before bed.

PLAYS: She's been crawling for the past month and it is crazy! She's soo fast and gets into everything!! She constantly tries to open the fireplace and has gotten into our avocado plant, ha. I took her to Bumble and Hive (a local play centre) and she loves it now that she's crawling! She's sooo close to pulling herself up on things.

HIGHS: Reading with her before naps and bed is my absolute favourite. She loves books, especially with lots of colourful pictures. She's also giving the BEST open mouth kisses.. Love my sweet girl so much. 

LOWS: Last month she got a bad GI bug so that was not fun....and then came teething, a few days of a lot of crying. But she's honestly such a happy and easy baby.

PARENTING: Oh man, if you've seen my latest IG post, parenting a TWO year old has been so hard lately! But I've been reading this book and it's already been so insightful. London is a breeze right now (aside from the pic below, ha!!) 

Taking them out by myself is a bit of an adventure as Luca likes to run and she likes to be on the move and then put everything in her mouth. But thankfully if I bring LOTS of snacks, it will occupy her or bribe him, ha.

WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO: Summer is hard because James works long days BUT we're living for the weekend. Lots of family time is my favourite!! Oh and I'm also looking forward to going to Van next month to see my bestie. TWO nights BABY FREE!!! I love my babies but I am SOOOO looking forward to some personal space LOLS!

Love ya!

Laura

AMAZON.CA PRIME DAY DEALS

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This post contains affiliate links.

Prime Days are finally here and I've rounded up my favourites from amazon.ca !! 

1. INSTANT POT! If you do not have an Instant Pot you need to get one! It honestly will revolutionize your cooking and everything tastes sooo amazing!!! It's on for $99!!!

2. BLENDTEC BLENDER- On for $319 from $549!! I've heard amazing things about this blender! I keep praying our blender dies so I can buy a new one lols.

3. DIONO CARSEAT- Diono Carseats are amazing and this one is down from $450 to $286!!! Smoking deal for anyone who needs a carseat!!

4. BOON PLATES- These are in my cart for checkout! I looove baby plates that make it hard for them to throw on the floor, ha!

5. LIGHTBOX LETTER SIGN- This is only $23!! It's in my cart today.

6. KITCHENAID MIXER- My Kitchenaid is my favourite wedding gift. I still use it mulitiple times a week and it is in pristine condition. These babies are built to last!! This one is down from $689 to $329.

7. WHITENOISE- I've heard amazing things about this white noise and it's on for $19.99!! If you are having a baby, this is a MUST.

8. HAPE TODDLER ACTIVITY BOX- I love Hape toys and this one is a great deal!

9. BOB STROLLER- I love my Bumbleride but I know people who have BOBS just LOVE THEM! This is a great running stroller too!

10. VEGGIE SPIRALIZER- I've been wanting to get one of these for a long time!! It's on for $23!!

11. CLARISONIC FACIAL CLEANER- The original is on sale for $109! I still have mine that I purchased before I was married, so at least 6 years old and works perfectly. It's the best way to wash your face!

Have you found some good Prime Day Deals? Let me know in the comments!!

XO, Laura

2018 SUMMER READING LIST

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This post contains affiliate links.

Summer for me means sunshine, beach days and lots of reading. These days I don't have the time to spend hours reading on the beach BUT that won't stop me from making my Summer Reading List! 

Here's what's on my list for this Summer...

1. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng- okay, so I had a bit of a head start and already read this book earlier this year. It's a fascinating read that definitely challenged me and I would love to hear how you liked it! It's so good to read books that get you thinking about what you believe and why.

2. Educated by Tara Westover- there are 213 people ahead of me in line to read this at my library so I don't think I'll be getting to it this summer but my goodness it looks unreal. It's a family memoir about a girl who grew up mixing herbs to make remedies and digging through junkyards. She had no official birth certificate or education and had her first official day of school at University! I cannot wait to read this one...hoping those 213 people in front of me read it very quickly!

3. Stay the Path by Bobbie Houston- I just adore Bobbie Houston so I'm excited to dig into this one. I just ordered it because I have a feeling I'll want to read it again!

4. Everybody Always by Bob Goff- I absolutely loved Bob Goff's Love Does and I cannot wait to read this one! I know it's going to be challenging by also incredibly inspiring. He is such an amazing human being with so much insight.

5. The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand- It wouldn't be summer without reading one of Elin's Nantucket based novels! I loved reading The Identicals last year so I'm sure I'll love this one. Her books are easy chick lit perfect for any pool or beach day!

6. Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell- I always love reading a thriller type novel in the summer and this one looks like it will fit the bill!

7. Love & Ruin by Paula McLain- I just got this out from the library and I'm totally hooked! I loved The Paris Wife so I'm not surprised I'm loving this one. It's about Martha Gellhorn, Ernest Hemmingway's third wife. I'm such a sucker for historical fiction!

8. The Light Between Oceans- This one was recommended by my friend Ashley who has read more than 50 books this year (she gave me a great list incase you need anymore suggestions!)  I did watch this move, so I know the storyline but I'm excited to see how the book differs.

Do you have any must reads on your summer book list? I'd love to hear them!!

Oh and also, I enrolled Luca in the BC Summer Reading Program at our local library. It was the same library that I grew up going to and I remember enrolling in the Summer Reading Program every summer!! We read 20 minutes a day and if he completes a week, we get a prize! I'm hoping to bring him every Friday to get his prize. It warms my heart so much that he loves reading!!

XO!
Laura

SUMMER BUCKET LIST

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Hello Summer!! I'm a little late on our Summer Bucket List BUT our weather here has recently been more like fall so I'm all confused and now craving a Pumpkin Spice Latte, ha!

Do you guys do bucket lists? I just looked over my Spring Bucket List and I'm happy to report that I checked off most things...except for the vegetable garden (mainly due to the fact that our yard is currently torn a part from perimeter drains and fence installation..but next year for the veggie garden!) AND running 5km...I've been on lots of hikes but haven't done a run in ages :(

My Summer Bucket list is a bit bittersweet because right after Summer, I head back to work! I'm obviously so excited to get back doing what I love but I will miss my babies LIKE CRAZY!

Here's what I'm hoping to cram in this Summer...

Our Summer Bucket List:

• Little getaway to Pender Island (CHECK! We did this a couple weeks ago and it was so fun!)
• Visit a Waterpark
• Visit Parksville, BC (we just booked 3 nights in early September. Some of our family is coming up too. I'm SO excited!!)
• Update Luca and London's Baby Books (I'm sooo bad about this. Need to get photos printed and update as much as I can!!)
• Stay at a hotel for our Wedding Anniversary (It will be our very first night away from both kids!! Any recommendations for a lovely place in Victoria, BC?)
• Summer Reading Club (I grew up doing the Summer Reading Club at my local library and it's still going on! Today I'm going to sign Luca and London up for it!!) 
• Organize Built ins + Junk Drawer
• Budget update (Sadly, I have to adult as well this summer)
• Beach + Picnic as much as possible!
   

What's on your summer bucket list?

XO, Laura

HOW WE GOT OUR BABIES SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT (PART ONE)

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Disclaimer: I am not a certified sleep consultant. I understand sleep training can be a touchy subject. Sleep training is not for every family but it worked for us. You do you. That's the magic of motherhood, different methods but the same heart. Just love please!!! This post contains affiliate links.

It has taken me forever to write this post but if you follow me on Instagram you know I'm a huge believer in schedules and sleep training for babies. Because I have a lot to say on this subject, I'm splitting it up into 3 posts...introduction, 0-3 month sleep and 3+ month sleep.
 

Before I had kids, I thought, I'm going to be that mama who takes her babies everywhere...my babies will be able to sleep in anyone's arms, on church pews, on blankets outside, in car rides...my babies will not dictate my schedule....

And then I actually had a baby...HA!

It took me almost 30 years to realize, I am NOT a "go with the flow" type of person. I like organization, I like schedules, I like routine. I'm okay with change (probably mainly because of all that positivity that's deeply engrained in me, ha) but it takes me awhile to adjust to it...so when I became a mama, I desperately needed to figure out a routine...especially one that involves sleeping at night!!

When I was pregnant with Luca I read the Sleepsense Guide. I'm a BIG BIG fan of sleep so I knew trying to get my baby to sleep would be a priority for me. It's very helpful. The layout isn't the easiest to follow (it's very wordy) but it helped us a lot.

And then Luca was born and IT WAS BANANAS. He was jaundice so for the first few days I nursed him around the clock which meant he fed every 2 hours. A typical night would be: 11pm wake him up, change diaper, nurse 15 mins each side while also trying to keep him awake (jaundice babes are very sleepy so you need to keep them awake while feeding), burp, change diaper, swaddle, back to sleep, set alarm for 1am. After gaining 5oz in 3 days my doc said I could go to every 4 hours at night (HALLELUJAH!)

Like I said, IT WAS BANANAS. But it also gave me a lot of time to be on my phone and google things. The #1 thing I googled was "when can babies sleep through the night". Obviously I knew a baby had to be older and a healthy weight to sleep through the night but I wanted to know anything I could to help make that happen!

So I followed Sleepsense, and the blogs: Precious Little Sleep and A Mother Far From Home. At 7 weeks Luca went into his own room and at 8 weeks he started sleeping 10 hour stretches! He slept great and didn't go through any 4 month regression. I did have to re-nap train him after we went to Cali (because all his naps were on the go or nursed to sleep) but he started doing 7-7 straight around 6 months and today is still an amazing sleeper.

I did wonder that maybe Luca was just naturally a good sleeper but then I had London. I followed the exact same things and realized, nope, they just needed to be taught how to sleep and this my friends, is why I believe in sleep training...sleep training is essentially teaching your child how to go to sleep on their own. 

It's not neglecting your child or letting you child cry for hours on end..it's also not not feeding them. Sometimes London sleeps 11-12 hours straight but sometimes she wakes around 5:30am for a feed. I could night wean her but I don't really mind that feed as it's only once in awhile.
Since writing this London has slept consistently 12 hours straight for the past few months! I can't remember the last time she has woken up in the night!

photo by Rachael Alexandra Co.

Sleep Training Supplies

If you're planning on sleep training here are a few things that I HIGHLY recommend:

• Video Monitor (Some ppl swear by audio but video is such a life saver...it's amazing to see your babe get the hang of falling asleep. I recommend getting one with night vision which will save your sanity when your baby starts rolling over in their crib!!)
• Velcro Swaddles (for 0-4 month stage)
• Continuous White Noise (I'll talk about the importance of this in the 3 months + sleep post!)
• Black Out Curtain
• Sleep Sack (for 4 months and up)

I'm sure I'm missing some supply but there you have it for now! I'll be back with part 2 + 3 very soon!!

XO,
Laura